


once bitten, twice shy

by joshllyman



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (they're there but not relevant to the plot), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Catboys & Catgirls, Kita is also NB but it's one tiny reference, M/M, Nonbinary Akaashi Keiji, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Kozume Kenma, Other, Vampires, a variety of characters I didn't tag because they don't have speaking parts, also a variety of ships in the background that i'm not tagging because they're minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28139373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman
Summary: Out of the corner of his eye, Koutarou notices a stranger enter the party. They shake the snow out of their hair and off their coat before making their way to the back of the establishment. For a brief moment as they pass, their eyes connect with Koutarou’s, and it knocks the wind right out of him.Then they pass. They don’t look at him again as they sit down at the far end of the bar. Koutarou is frozen, unable to do anything but stare until Daichi puts a hand on his back.“You good?”Koutarou turns back to him. “Please tell me you know who that is.”***A year ago, Koutarou met a stranger at a Christmas party, and it changed his life forever. Now he's trying to move on, but they're still on his mind.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 12
Kudos: 54





	once bitten, twice shy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hazazel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazazel/gifts).



> MERRY CHRISTMAS HAZ I LOVE YOU AND I HOPE YOU LOVE THIS
> 
> The italics occur in the past, the regular text occurs in the present.

The party is pretty much the last place Koutarou wants to be.

Normally, he loves a good party, especially around the holidays. After all, it’s Christmas eve. Everyone’s clasping hands and exchanging gifts, dancing, singing, generally being merry. Kuroo currently has his arms and tail wrapped around Oikawa, who’s kissed maybe half the partygoers by now. Even Kenma has been dragged to the floor once or twice by faer partners. Koutarou is the only person who doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself.

He can’t help but feel a little miserable though, a little sorry for himself. He runs a thumb over that swollen spot on the inside of his lip, the scar that hasn’t gone away since exactly a year ago today. It makes his heart ache for what could have been. Christmas is a shitty time to be stuck in the past, but he can’t help it...

***

_ Koutarou’s cheeks are red with the cold as he enters the bar, but still he smiles as a shout goes up from the gathered partygoers. Kuroo appears at the front of the crowd and pulls Koutarou into a hug.  _

_ “Merry Christmas, you overgrown owl!” he shouts into Koutarou’s ear. _

_ When he pulls away, Daichi manifests at Kuroo’s side and presses a glass into Koutarou’s hand. “It’s good to see you, Bokuto,” he says warmly. _

_ Kuroo laughs and presses a kiss to Daichi’s cheek. It’s the overly affectionate Kuroo sort of night then, Koutarou muses with a smile as Daichi reddens. Kuroo peels himself away and goes to find someone else to dance with. Daichi accompanies Koutarou over to the bar. _

_ “How’s work going?” Koutarou asks over the noise of the party.  _

_ “Putting out fires, saving lives, the usual.” Daichi grins. “What about you? Post-volleyball life treating you okay?” _

_ “Ah, I miss it, you know?” Koutarou takes a sip of his drink. “But coaching’s pretty fun. The kids seem to like me.” _

_ “How could they not? You’re you, Bo.” _

_ Koutarou laughs. “I am the best, huh? Ah man, the other day, Ichigo-kun pulled off this amazing shot, right down the line, and—” _

_ Out of the corner of his eye, Koutarou notices a stranger enter the party. They shake the snow out of their hair and off their coat before making their way to the back of the establishment. For a brief moment as they pass, their eyes connect with Koutarou’s, and it knocks the wind right out of him. _

_ Then they pass. They don’t look at him again as they sit down at the far end of the bar. Koutarou is frozen, unable to do anything but stare until Daichi puts a hand on his back. _

_ “You good?” _

_ Koutarou turns back to him. “Please tell me you know who that is.” _

***

“You look more like me than yourself,” Kenma says.

Koutarou looks up as Kenma slides into the booth across from him. Faer eyes are cast down, but there are wrinkles in the corners, and Koutarou knows he’s concerned fae. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Koutarou says, trying for a bright smile. 

Kenma’s shoulders shake a bit with a laugh. “Any event where you’re not the center of attention makes me worried,” fae confesses. 

Koutarou pouts. “I’m not  _ always _ the center of attention.”

“You are the sun, Koutarou,” Kenma says simply. “You don’t ask for the rest of us to fall into your gravity any more than a star asks for planets to rotate around it. We just do, because that’s who you are.”

Koutarou goes very red. “If you say so.”

“My point is that something seems to have dimmed your light this evening.” Kenma finally looks up at him. Faer lips are puckered into a worried frown. “It was a year ago, wasn’t it?”

Trust Kenma to get right to the heart of the problem. “At last year’s party, yeah.”

“Are you still looking for them?”

“As much as I can.”

Kenma looks away again. Fae fidgets with the sleeves of faer sweater. It’s bright red with a dinosaur covered in little LED lights and says “Tree Rex” at the top. A quick glance across the bar confirms Tsukishima and Hinata are in matching sweaters, and Koutarou guesses that’s Hinata’s doing.

“Have you considered...have you wondered if maybe they don’t want to be found?”

Koutarou wraps both hands around his glass. “I don’t know if I can accept that.”

***

_ "Sorry, no," Daichi says. "I don't recognize them at all." _

_ "They're beautiful," Koutarou murmurs. He can hear the wonder in his own voice, the awe. He can’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed. _

_ Daichi snorts into his glass. "You sure you've only had one?" _

_ "Yeah," Koutarou affirms. "I'm gonna go talk to them." _

_ “You’re gonna—Bo, you sure? The last time you tried to hit on a stranger you ended up getting all of us kicked out of the bar.” _

_ “This is different.” _

_ “You made Tetsu promise to never let you do it again.” _

_ “He’s not here.” _

_ “Uh, he can be. Oi, Tetsurou—!” _

_ Koutarou stands and pats Daichi’s shoulder. “Thanks for the warning, man.” _

_ Every step toward the stranger feels strangely long; time stretches out like putty in Koutarou’s hands, making the few seconds that it takes to walk down to the other end of the bar seem like an hour. He thinks over what he’s going to say, what he possibly  _ could _ say to someone so beautiful, so perfect, when he’s just plain old Koutarou— _

_ And then his mind empties altogether, because as he approaches, the stranger turns to him and smiles, ever so slightly, their lips curving just so and their eyes twinkling and— _

_ “Can I help you?” they question, and Koutarou can’t think of a single word to say in response. _

***

Kenma sighs as fae reaches over to set a hand on Koutarou’s wrist. “The city’s not that big, Koutarou. If they wanted to be found, don’t you think you’d have done it by now?”

“Maybe they’re from out of town,” Koutarou sighs. “Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen them again.”

“I think you should think about it, at least.” Kenma takes faer hand back, returning to fidgeting with faer sweater sleeves. “Speaking for...all of us, really, it hurts to see you hurting like this.”

Koutarou sighs, looking down into his drink. “Did you just draw the short straw on talking to me about it, then?”

“I volunteered,” Kenma says. Koutarou looks up at fae; there’s a small smile on faer face. “You really do look like me, over here in the corner by yourself.”

“I look like you before Hinata happened.”

A red tint paints faer cheeks. “Shouyou has a way of bringing the best out of all of us. You’re like that too, you know.”

Koutarou smiles despite himself. “Yeah, I try.”

Kenma raises a brow. “You’re doing well, you know. I know this hasn’t been easy for you, but I think a lesser man might have just given up. You’re too strong for that, and I admire you for it.”

Koutarou loses his response; it dies in his throat on its way out. He takes a sip of his drink. “You’re a good friend, Kenma. Thank you.”

Kuroo slides in beside Kenma, throwing an arm around faer shoulder and kissing faer cheek. Kenma grimaces. “Your boys are looking for you.”

“I’m wearing a light-up sweater, I’m not difficult to spot.”

Kuroo shrugs and looks up at Koutarou. “You gonna come dance with me or what?”

Koutarou shares one last look with Kenma. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

Kuroo beams at him and slips back out of the booth. His ears flick forward as he bows and offers Koutarou a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Koutarou giggles before he accepts it. “You may.”

***

_ “Hi,” Koutarou manages. Their eyes are a haunting shade of blue, so bright even in the dimness of the bar that they shine. _

_ “Hello.” They’re so beautiful, like no one Koutarou has ever met. “Do I know you?” _

_ “Um, no.” Koutarou bites his lip. “But, uh, maybe you could?” _

_ The stranger hums. Their eyes glitter. “You’ll have to start with your name, then.” _

_ “Right,” Koutarou agrees, and he stares and stares. _

_ They laugh, not unkindly. “Your name is Right?” _

_ “What? No! Um, it’s Koutarou. Bokuto Koutarou.” _

_ He offers them a hand to shake, remembering some semblance of manners at the last moment. They take it. _

_ “Akaashi Keiji,” they reply. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bokuto-san.” _

_ “Just Koutarou is fine,” Koutarou says. “Uh, all my friends use it.” _

_ “And we’re friends now?” Keiji questions. _

_ Koutarou feels suddenly uneasy. He realizes he’s still holding Keiji’s hand. “Would you like to be?” _

_ Keiji lets go of him; the loss makes Koutarou’s chest feel hollow. They pillow their chin on their other hand.  _

_ “I suppose I would,” Keiji answers. _

_ Koutarou’s heart starts up again. “Is this seat taken?” _

_ “It is by you.” _

_ Koutarou sits and orders a drink. Keiji watches him closely, and all he can do is grin, feeling incredibly lucky that they’re even giving him the time of day. _

_ “So, Koutarou,” they say, leaning in toward him just a hair. “Tell me about yourself.” _

***

One nice thing about Kuroo is that he’s always warm.

It’s been a year, but Koutarou still isn’t quite used to the supernatural cold that runs through his veins now. He used to be like a furnace, nearly as warm as Kuroo despite not being magical the way Kuroo is, but now he has to layer sweaters to go out in winter and wears long sleeves even in summer.

Fortunately, with Kuroo’s body pressed close to his own and his tail wrapped around his waist, he’s not quite shivering the way he was before. Kuroo laughs as they twirl around the floor. His happiness is contagious, almost enough so to shake Koutarou from his melancholy. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Daichi watching them, an easy smile on his face. Iwaizumi and Matsukawa are dancing, too, Matsukawa’s arm held tight around Iwaizumi’s waist. Oikawa’s in Ushijima’s lap. Kageyama has wandered his way over to Tsukishima and Hinata, and without being able to hear them, he’s not sure if they’re arguing or agreeing. Yachi is holding Kageyama’s hand, but she’s turned almost all the way around and chatting with Kindaichi and Kunimi, and her tail flicks happily back and forth. Atsumu and Osamu, a little ways away, are  _ definitely _ arguing, while Kita and Sakusa watch their partners with a mix of fondness and exasperation.

All in all, the atmosphere is great, the company is wonderful, and Koutarou should definitely be having a great time.

But something is missing, and he can’t seem to shake that feeling, no matter how many times Kuroo twirls him around the floor.

“Too many thoughts in that head of yours,” Kuroo says, his ears flickering with a hint of irritation as he spins them again. They nearly crash into Iwaizumi and Matsukawa, who don’t seem to notice them at all. “C’mon, man, it’s Christmas.”

“I know, I know,” Koutarou says. He’d throw his hands up if he weren’t a little afraid to let go of Kuroo. “I’m good, I swear.”

Kuroo’s quiet for a moment. The song changes. Yachi turns to Kageyama with a smile on her face and tugs her boyfriend to the floor.

“Why don’t you have any other single friends?” Koutarou questions.

Kuroo snorts. “Because we used to only have single friends and they all coupled up.”

Koutarou hums. Hinata’s trying to convince either Tsukishima or Kenma to come dance with him. It doesn’t seem to be going well. “Guess there was always gonna be an odd one out, huh.”

Kuroo is quiet. Koutarou feels his tail wrap a little tighter around his waist. 

“It just felt like we had a connection,” Koutarou murmurs. “For a second, I thought it might be my last solo party.”

“Are you sure it isn’t just their influence? There’s like, a bond to the one who...creates you, right?”

Koutarou shakes his head. “I looked it up. That only lasts a month or so.”

“Woulda been nice if they’d stuck around to teach you the basics, at least.”

“I’ve managed okay on my own. The Internet exists, you know.”

Kuroo laughs. “I know you have, man. You know, if it weren’t for Dai, I think I’d have you for myself.”

Koutarou laughs. “You can’t handle me, man, but I appreciate it.”

Daichi appears at Kuroo’s side. He smiles at Koutarou. “I’m sorry, is this overgrown housecat bothering you?”

Kuroo’s ears flick as he gasps, but Koutarou doesn’t miss the way his tail slips from Koutarou’s waist to wrap around Daichi’s instead. “Daichi! Betrayal!”

Daichi easily takes his hand and tugs him into an embrace. Kuroo laughs and buries his face in Daichi’s neck. 

Hinata rushes over and takes Koutarou’s hands. “Does that mean you’re free to dance with me?”

“Sure am,” Koutarou agrees easily, and Hinata beams at him.

***

_ “Let’s get out of here,” Keiji says a while later. _

_ Koutarou furrows his brow. “What?” _

_ Keiji smiles. “We should go for a walk.” _

_ “It’s snowing,” Koutarou says uncertainly. _

_ Keiji nods. “We won’t be long.” _

_ Koutarou feels like he’s drowning in their ocean eyes and he doesn’t want to come up for air, except—he looks around, at the party, his friends, the reason he actually came. “You’re sure they won’t miss me?” _

_ Keiji reaches over and places a hand on top of Koutarou’s. It’s cool, impossibly so, surprising in the press of the crowded bar and their proximity to each other. Koutarou swallows. _

_ “Trust me, Koutarou,” Keiji says, and the way Koutarou’s given name falls from their mouth, so naturally, so right, makes Koutarou’s heart skip a beat. _

_ Slowly, slowly, Koutarou nods. _

_ Keiji’s fingers curl around Koutarou’s hand, and they tug him out of the bar. Koutarou meets only one set of eyes on his way out _ — _ Daichi’s. His friend passes him a look of shock, quickly replaced by amusement, and gives him a thumbs up.  _

_ It’s still snowing outside, although more lightly than it was before. Keiji’s fingers deftly button up their coat, and they turn to Koutarou with a raised brow. _

_ “You should do the same,” they offer. _

_ Koutarou is about to move when Keiji tugs him close by the lapels of his coat and begins to button him up, bottom to top. Koutarou is careful not to breathe, afraid he might break the moment, but he can’t hold it in anymore when Keiji gets to the top button and their eyes meet again. _

_ “Wouldn’t want you to get too chilly,” they murmur, a light blush coloring their cheeks. _

_ Koutarou doesn’t answer, and after a moment they break away from each other. Koutarou is certain Keiji can hear his heartbeat as loudly as he can. _

_ “There’s a path along the river,” Keiji says, pointing in that direction. They turn to look at Koutarou. “Will you join me?” _

_ Koutarou smiles. “I’m all yours tonight.” _

***

After Hinata finally lets him go to tug Tsukishima back to the floor, Koutarou leads Yachi around the floor a few times. Then Matsukawa claims her and Koutarou dances with Iwaizumi, then Iwaizumi gets stolen by Oikawa and Koutarou has a nice chat with Ushijima about their respective teams. Atsumu finally manages to stop harassing Osamu long enough for Koutarou to dance a song with him, too, and when he goes back to it, Koutarou takes Kita’s hand and dances with them.

It gets easier, as the night goes on, to forget the ache in his chest. It gets easier to breathe, to revel in the magic of the holiday. He can almost, almost forget why he was in so much pain in the first place.

It never quite goes away. It never has quite gone away. Even when his kids are up a set over the competition and about to claim victory, even when he’s laughing with Daichi and Kuroo about something stupid, even when everything in his world is going right—it never quite goes away. It hangs over his head, just behind him, a little rain cloud on an otherwise sunny day. He knows it could be much worse, and most of the time he’s good at not lingering in the feeling. Most of the time.

The party starts winding down just before midnight. Kenma gets tired of being social and steals Tsukishima and Hinata away. Tsukishima is coerced into giving him a hug, and he almost looks like he hates every moment of it (but there’s the ghost of a smile on his face when he pulls away). Yachi curls up in Kageyama’s lap and falls asleep, and he runs his fingers through her hair even while quietly conversing with Kunimi and Matsukawa. Oikawa loudly proclaims he’s taking the handsomest man in the bar home for the night before dragging a bewildered Ushijima out into the snow (Koutarou’s pretty sure he hears Ushijima questioning “we came in together, Tooru, were you intending to leave me here—?”) The couples on the dance floor spin slowly as slower music filters through the speakers. Koutarou finds his way back over to the bar and watches them with a smile on his face. 

“You alright?” Kindaichi asks.

Koutarou looks over to him. He’s a little flushed, and he lost his sweater somewhere over the course of the night. Koutarou’s sure Kunimi will produce it again before they leave.

“Yeah,” Koutarou answers, and he’s pleased to find he means it genuinely. “Yeah, I’m doing alright.”

Kindaichi smiles easily. “Good. I’m glad to hear that, man.”

Kageyama gathers Yachi up in his arms and holds her close to his chest. He murmurs his goodbyes and heads for the door, and Koutarou is about to hop up and grab it for them when it opens from the outside.

And then, like magic, a set of sapphire eyes is looking into his own.

***

_ Hours pass like minutes with Keiji. _

_ It’s incredible, because one moment it’s quarter to ten, and the next it’s nearly midnight and they’ve wandered so far from the bar that Koutarou’s not entirely sure he’ll be able to get back. It’s alright, he supposes, because he’s got Keiji with him. _

_ He figures he should be a lot colder, but maybe the warmth of conversation has kept him from getting too chilly. There have been very few moments where one of them wasn’t talking. They’ve talked about Koutarou’s career, his family and friends, his favorite holiday movies. They’ve talked about Keiji’s taste in music, their favorite coffee spots in town, their favorite Christmas memory. Every time he thinks he’s run out of things to say, Keiji asks him another question, and he launches into another story with a smile.  _

_ Twenty or so minutes ago, he took Keiji’s hand. Keiji didn’t let go. _

_ “So he made this amazing line shot, right?” Koutarou says, gesturing with the hand not tangled in Keiji’s. “And he turned and pointed at me and went ‘hey hey hey!’ which was always my thing when I played and it was so cool! Like he’d been watching me and learning from me!” _

_ Keiji smiles. “You sound like you’d be a wonderful coach, Koutarou.” _

_ Koutarou grins. “Yeah, it’s so fun! Because I get to play, kind of, but the pride of seeing them succeed is almost bigger than the pride I felt when I won, you know?” _

_ Keiji hums. The moon peeks out from behind a cloud. The snow stopped falling a while ago, but it still rests like a crown on Keiji’s head.  _

_ “Do you think…” Koutarou begins, but he stops short when Keiji looks at him. Their eyes are so intense; he feels like he won’t ever be able to look directly at them.  _

_ Keiji raises a brow. “I try to, yes.” _

_ Koutarou laughs. “I didn’t finish my question.” _

_ “Go ahead, then.” _

_ Koutarou takes a deep breath and exhales it, and it appears on the air between them, a cloud of frost. “Are you cold?” _

_ Keiji shakes their head. “Quite warm, actually. Your hand is toasty.” _

_ Koutarou’s breath catches in his throat as Keiji squeezes his hand. He swallows hard, staring at them a moment too long and then looking down at the ground. _

_ “Your question?” Keiji prompts. _

_ “Right,” Koutarou says. “Do you think...maybe we could see each other again? After tonight?” _

_ Keiji smiles, so beautiful, so bright, and Koutarou’s heart pounds in his chest. “I think I’d quite like that.” _

_ Slowly, Keiji brings their joined hands to their mouth and presses a kiss against Koutarou’s knuckles. Koutarou freezes as Keiji meets his gaze, their lips still pressed against his skin. _

_ “You’re impossible,” Koutarou breathes. _

_ Keiji smiles. “I’m not impossible. Just improbable.” _

_ Koutarou huffs a shaky laugh. “Can I ask you a question?” _

_ A smirk finds Keiji’s mouth. “You can ask another.” _

_ Koutarou licks his lips, suddenly finding them dry. “Would it be alright if I kissed you?” _

_ The joy falls away from Keiji’s face. They study him carefully, their eyes searching his face, and Koutarou’s heart lodges itself in his throat. _

_ “I mean, I’m sorry. I thought—I must have misunderstood—” _

_ Koutarou is interrupted by Keiji’s lips finding his own. _

_ Suddenly, Koutarou no longer notices the cold, the snow in his hair and eyes, or the wind whipping around them. All he notices is Keiji, the faint taste of iron on their lips, the way they seem to be shivering just slightly, the open, earnest way they’d looked at him— _

_ And then, he stops thinking. He moves, bringing both hands to cup their face and leaning in, and Keiji sighs against him, lips curving upward. Koutarou can’t help but smile too, and oh, surely, this must be what it’s like to fall in— _

_ There are two tiny pricks on the inside of his lip. _

_ Keiji steps away. The smile is gone from their face. _

_ “I have to go,” they say quickly. “I’m—I’m so sorry, Koutarou. Bokuto-san. I’m sorry.” _

_ “Keiji?” Koutarou breathes. _

_ Before he can even reach out, they’re gone. _

_ Instead, he reaches up to his mouth, running a finger along the inside of his lip, surprised when he comes away with blood on his skin. It hadn’t hurt at all. _

_ When he looks up again, he doesn’t even see their footprints in the snow. _

***

Koutarou suddenly finds that he can’t breathe.

“Keiji,” he gasps.

Keiji hears him from across the bar. Something that Koutarou thinks might be relief floods their features, and they cross quickly over to him without stopping to remove their coat.

“Hello, Bokuto-san,” Keiji says quietly. “Would you mind joining me outside?”

It’s like time has stopped moving altogether, at least for the two of them. In his peripheral vision, Koutarou can still see the rest of the party, the dancing, the joy, the laughter, but he and Keiji are frozen, staring at each other, as Keiji awaits a response.

“What are you doing here?”

Keiji casts a glance around the bar. Koutarou follows it, but everyone’s caught up in their own little world. 

When Keiji takes his hand, Koutarou is shocked to find it doesn’t feel cold at all.

“Please,” they breathe.

Koutarou is stunned to find himself getting up off the barstool. He’s stunned to find himself pulled through the crowd once again, stunned at Keiji’s ability to weave them through people like the bar is empty altogether. Stunned to find himself outside in the snow, lights twinkling and casting a shadow on Keiji’s face.

“I looked for you,” Koutarou says. His voice is hushed by the layer of snow on the ground. “But no one seemed to know who you were.”

Keiji nods slowly. “Do you remember me telling you I keep to myself? I wasn’t joking about that, you know.”

“You said you were lonely,” Koutarou says.

Keiji sighs. “I have felt more lonely in the last year than I have in my many years of living.”

“So why didn’t you find me?”

Keiji turns their face away. “Bokuto-san—”

“Please don’t call me that.”

Keiji twists their ungloved hands. “Koutarou. Are you upset with me?”

Koutarou’s brow furrows. “For not finding me? No. I’m sure you had a reason. Will you explain it to me?”

Keiji looks miserable, lines creasing their beautiful face. Koutarou wants to run his thumb over each one and smooth them out. “Did you...did you not change?”

Koutarou cocks his head. “I became a vampire, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Keiji closes their eyes. Something like relief floods their features, only for sadness to surge back over them. They swallow hard. “Did you know that vampires can only create other vampires if they have a genuine connection with the one they’re biting?”

Koutarou shakes his head. “I did a lot of research...after. But nothing mentioned that.”

Keiji takes a deep breath. “It’s a safeguard. Otherwise we’d be overrun with vampires everywhere, right, if we created them every time we fed.” They open their eyes and search Koutarou’s. “That’s why I stay away from others.”

“You were scared of creating another vampire,” Koutarou says.

Keiji nods. “And when I realized...when I realized what I’d done, I thought if I pulled away then, if I ran, perhaps you would have a chance of not turning.”

Koutarou runs his tongue over the old scar. “I think your reasoning is pretty faulty there, Keiji. I connected with you the moment I saw you.”

Keiji inhales sharply before sucking their bottom lip between their teeth. “Koutarou…”

Koutarou can’t help but take the chance he’s wanted to take since they stepped outside. He lifts a hand to Keiji’s face. He is struck, again, by how warm they feel beneath his touch. It must be a vampire thing, he supposes, but he doesn’t have long to focus on it when Keiji looks up and meets his eyes.

“I’ve missed you,” Koutarou confesses.

“I’ve missed you,” Keiji says, voice too harsh. They lean into Koutarou’s hand. “I ruined your life, Koutarou. Why don’t you hate me?”

Koutarou runs his fingers through Keiji’s hair. They lift their chin, just a bit, almost imperceptible, but Koutarou catches it anyway. 

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Koutarou murmurs. “The vampire thing...I don’t mind it. It’s not so different from before. My friends are all supportive. The nocturnal thing is a bit inconvenient, but I found a team of supernaturals to coach, so it worked out alright.”

Keiji shakes their head. “You’re impossible.”

“Just improbable,” Koutarou corrects. 

A tiny upward curve appears on Keiji’s lips. 

“I could never hate you, you know,” Koutarou continues. “I understand that you were scared. I would have...well, I guess I don’t know what I would have done, but I get why you ran away.”

Keiji takes a deep breath. They might be shaking, ever so slightly. Koutarou can’t be sure. “I can’t see you running away from much of anything, Koutarou.”

Koutarou leans forward and presses his forehead against Keiji’s. Their eyes are so, so blue, so clear. He could drown in them and it would be the happiest way to go.

“So why did you come back?” Koutarou murmurs. “Why now?”

Keiji’s eyes flutter shut. “There hasn’t been a single day I didn’t think about you. And I had to know if there was any chance…” They trail off, clamping their mouth shut.

Koutarou waits for a moment, but when it’s clear they don’t intend to continue, he runs a thumb over their jaw. “Any chance of what?”

Keiji looks at him again. There are tears gathering in the corners of their eyes. “Any chance you might want me the way I still want you.”

Koutarou lets out a tiny laugh, and then it grows and becomes bigger and bigger until his whole body trembles with it. Keiji smiles, and the tears fall down their cheeks, and Koutarou wipes them away even as he giggles.

“What’s funny?” Keiji whispers.

Koutarou finally settles himself, clinging to them with a grin. “Because, Keiji,” he says. “I can’t think of anything else I want more than you.”

Keiji goes to argue, but Koutarou surges forward and seals their lips together.

It is magical, the way Keiji melts into him. It is perfect, the way they fit together like they were made for each other. It is lovely, the way Keiji tastes like salt and iron and something cool. Koutarou pulls away to thumb away more of Keiji’s tears.

“Are you sure?” Keiji asks, but for the first time there’s a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

Koutarou holds Keiji’s face with both hands. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

And when he kisses them again, he finally learns what it’s like to fall in love.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find my socials [here!](https://joshllyman.carrd.co)


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